The pricing feels like a direct response to Microsoft essentially exiting the console market.
We really need to stop spreading this misinformation (and hyperbole) just because Microsoft is operating a different business model than Sony is.
I am not happy about the price either, but this generation has been weird with Microsoft and Sony not dropping their price and increasing prices in some locations. I doubt this has anything to do with Xbox.
I certainly don't care any longer about it beyond the XBox App on Windows.
Sarah Bond's exact words were: "And we're also invested in the next generation roadmap. And what we're really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation which makes it better for players and better for creators and the visions that they're building."
Source (18m33s mark): https://youtu.be/KGlD9SO3rKU?t=1113